In 1973 McRae travelled to Malaysia with Australian Volunteers Abroad and taught English as a second language at the Mara Institute of Technology.
She returned to Australia in 1974, gained employment as public servant in the Department of Education and developed curriculum materials for the teaching of English as a second language (ESL) in Australian primary schools.
From 1976 to 1989, McRae was employed by the Canberra College Technical and Further Education and the University of Canberra to train ESL teachers and also completed a Graduate Diploma in Multicultural Studies at the College of Advanced Education in Armidale, New South Wales and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts at the Australian National University in 1984.
[1][2] McRae worked as a speechwriter in the early days of the first ACT Administration, and in the Australian Public Service Commission where she managed a major review of the impact of Equal Employment Opportunity programs on people of non-English speaking backgrounds.
[2] McRae worked initially with the Education Network of Australia and then the Department of Health and Aged Care as a deputy director.